This is a discussion on New Maruti Alto 800. EDIT : CLEAR scoop pictures on Page 18 & 20 - Now Launched within The Indian Car Scene, part of the BHP India category; Originally Posted by blackasta
Is this really the case? was it like an unpaved road - just want to know ...

Is this really the case? was it like an unpaved road - just want to know the details. Because I have never seen a scene like this with any car in the city. Offroading - yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gansan

^^ I too have never seen this wrt Eon.

My 800cc Alto Lxi had never struggled anywhere. Neither have I ever seen any Alto struggling in the ghats of Ooty and Kodai. I don't see why the new Alto 800 should be any different!

Haven't seen the same in EON, but almost similar was happened with us when we're on the way to Marhi(~50km from Manali)-Rohtang Pass in our New Maruti 800 back in 1998 with 4 adults & 4 kids on board. On the sharp & steep curves she refused to climb those curves & those curves were bit slippery too because of the Melted snow.
So, it has to be completely brought to the halt first & then has to be taken-off again. Handbrake or a brick has to be placed behind its rear wheel to prevent it from skidding it back, as else even with momentum she refused to climb those curves.

But our 2005 Alto LXi, never refused on such occasions, even some of the more curves with more steep incline.

"In what could be one of the first encouraging signs for cars running on petrol, Maruti Suzuki’s new Alto 800 is leading the company’s charge in the festive season with over 17,000 bookings in the first four days. The festive season began with the Navratras on October 16 and will continue till around Diwali in mid-November. Meanwhile, the rush for diesel cars continues. Mahindra’s Quanto compact SUV has crossed 6,200 bookings since launch on September 21, while it’s Ssangyong Rexton premium SUV has seen bookings in a few hundreds after being unveiled just two days back. Renault’s Duster has already crossed the 20,000-unit booking number in the two and a half months since it hit the roads."

I think people who were waiting for their purchase during festive season, have embraced the new Alto whole heartedly. Spoke to a Maruti dealer yesterday, and he told this car is in very good demand after launch, and booking is very brisk.

Checked the car yesterday, and I must say, other than the looks department which polarises the opinion, everything else is a definite leap over the previous Alto, and that too at a price lesser than that! The interior looks and finish is vastly improved, and felt the drive was super smooth compared to old Alto (may be my mind was affected by the positive feel I got inside the car compared to the old one).

BTW, for me, the car looks much better in flesh than in pictures. The display vehicles in light blue colour is a sure letdown in looks department, though. They could have displayed the torque blue coloured one instead which looks much much better.

Haven't seen the same in EON, but almost similar was happened with us when we're on the way to Marhi(~50km from Manali)-Rohtang Pass in our New Maruti 800 back in 1998 with 4 adults & 4 kids on board. On the sharp & steep curves she refused to climb those curves & those curves were bit slippery too because of the Melted snow.
So, it has to be completely brought to the halt first & then has to be taken-off again. Handbrake or a brick has to be placed behind its rear wheel to prevent it from skidding it back, as else even with momentum she refused to climb those curves.

But our 2005 Alto LXi, never refused on such occasions, even some of the more curves with more steep incline.

So, have you been able to find the reasons for this to happen. We have travelled several times to this road & other steeper/ curvy roads in our MPFI zen without any issues.
In 2007 trip, we saw four guys in a Zen (PB-10), struggling to climb with their car. At every steep bend, 03 of them would get out and run behind the car and push it wherever required.The reason what I could make out was that as they were pressing the pedal too much, this could have burnt the clutch to a certain extent.

Having said that, I find that the new Alto 800 would be hit among the people in Himachal/ Uttrakhand due to its peppy pick-up and most importantly the High Ground clearance.

In yesterday's Hindu newspaper there was a full page ad of Ford's Figo. On first glance I mistook it as a new Alto 800. May be I am at fault, but the fact remains that a lot of cars, at least hatchbacks, now started to look alike.

This is a tight slap on face to Hyundai who were advertising Eon in wrong way. Alto surely going to write another success story for sure.

Just saw Alto in flesh. Its a really nice car for that price. You cant expect more i guess. Space is really amazing for that small car. Boot space is also very big. Overall fit & finish is ok as per the price. As per reviews, its better in Engine, refinement & other areas. Interiors also i find decent. Lets wait & watch next few months. I am sure it will again do 30k + numbers

Saw one of those A800 near an Accessory shop. Looks severely out of proportion with high ground clearance, puny tyres/wheels, funny wheel caps. Anyway it is a very VFM offering, so expecting a lot is like a terrible mistake.

Maruti did it quite nicely, new car sold in such HUGE numbers within weeks of launch is TERRIFIC.

I saw one on road today. It looked much better in person rather than in images, even better than the older one except for headlamps. Yes, I agree, it needs better tyres for its slightly taller (& maybe wider) profile.

So, have you been able to find the reasons for this to happen. We have travelled several times to this road & other steeper/ curvy roads in our MPFI zen without any issues.
In 2007 trip, we saw four guys in a Zen (PB-10), struggling to climb with their car. At every steep bend, 03 of them would get out and run behind the car and push it wherever required.The reason what I could make out was that as they were pressing the pedal too much, this could have burnt the clutch to a certain extent.

Having said that, I find that the new Alto 800 would be hit among the people in Himachal/ Uttrakhand due to its peppy pick-up and most importantly the High Ground clearance.

It was a brand new few months old Maruti 800 DX, but may be due to more load or slippery curves, the car performed in that way.
But regarding Alto, even the previous Alto is super successful in even high of the hilly areas without even a single complaint, thanks to its more Torquey engine & shorter 1-2 gears than M800.
But the New Alto800 has raised the benchmark for the performance & fuel efficiency for car of such size & price.
As previously Maruti Suzuki refrained themselves for tweaking the same engine for the car, as the cost of the production of the bodyshell itself was high & further engineering on the car, would've led to increased costs of the car but MSIL worked in a entirely different way to extract the exceptional from the 15 years old Platform & 20+ years old Engine block design.

"According to company officials its total sales in the next three months of festive season could jump 15% in line with the last few years’ average. This optimism stemming from the jump in bookings it has seen of its small entry level car the Alto 800 that has breached the 24,000 unit mark"

Alto bookings are soaring. But came to know from the dealer that even some of the customers looking for higher segment cars (WR, Estilo etc), are settling with this new car.